At the very core of Nora Turato’s practice is language.  In her work she translates information absorbed from her daily intake of articles, conversations, subtitles, and advertising slogans into linguistic-visual scripts for videos, installations, artist books, murals, and spoken word performances. All that surrounds her finds its way back into her work. In this manner she is democratic; political statements merge with Kardashians quotes in equal measure, revealing subtle synchronisms in social relations, marketing strategies, consumer behavior, and their own subjectivity.

In addition to the bold typography that characterizes her style, Turato’s own handwriting often appears in sprawling script across her work, alluding to a sentimental attachment to the artist’s notebook or the private moments of rehearsal before a performance. Moreover, it immortalizes a means of communication, which threatens to dissipate with the ubiquity of digital correspondence.

Turato channels the textual hysteria emitted from our smartphones to accentuate the volatility of language when taken out of context. Her work speaks to an age in which language is divorced from its informative function and words are abstracted from meaning.

Held for one night only, in a Roman courtyard in Prati district, Nora Turato’s action, titled what is dead may never die, reflects a series of warmup performances that anticipate her upcoming exhibitions at MUDAM, Luxembourg (group, 2021), Secession, Vienna (solo, 2021), MoMA, New York (solo, 2022).

On the occasion of the performance, Nora Turato created a limited edition t-shirt, available online and at BASEMENT ROMA.